News
February 15, 2011 - Heritage Commission Hosts Community Forum
September 13, 2009 - Press Release
February 24, 2009 - Press Release
January 26, 2009 - Media Release
January 12, 2009 - Heritage Register for Mission
November 12, 2008 - Local Commission Organizes Conference
February 14, 2008 - Heritage Commission announces winners
November 27, 2007 - Managing Heritage Assets - Special Presentation
Heritage Commission Hosts Community Forum
February 15, 2011
The Mission Community Heritage Commission is inviting the public to attend a Community Forum to discuss Heritage Context Planning. The forum will take place:
February 23, 2011 - 6:30 pm
Mission Leisure Centre, Room A4 & B
7650 Grand Street, Mission, B.C.
We are asking community members to attend this meeting to help develop the
criteria that may be used in future heritage and development planning.
We want to know what things you value most about your community, what
historic places you treasure, and what you would like to see happen in the future.
These and other criteria may be used by the Heritage Commission and District
Council to make important decisions for future development
and conservation objectives.
This forum is open to all of Mission's community members.
For further information please contact us:
By email or fax: 604.820.3715
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Press Release
September 13, 2009
What do the owners of Ferncliffe Gardens and Tim Horton's on First Avenue, the Mission Firefighters' Association and long-time resident Dorothy Crosby have in common? All have been publicly recognized for their important contributions to furthering heritage conservation in Mission.
In 2007 the Mission Community Heritage Commission initiated an annual awards program to acknowledge accomplishments, projects, and the efforts of businesses, groups, and individuals in the District of Mission. The first awards were presented on February 18, 2008 at a Council meeting as part of Heritage Week celebrations in the community.
For the past two years, nominations for prospective honorees have been solicited from members of the Heritage Commission and Bob Parliament, the Community Heritage Officer with the Heritage Branch, Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts.
This year the Heritage Commission wants to expand the awards program by introducing a public nomination process. This will help to identify a larger pool of qualified candidates.
At their monthly meeting on September 9th, 2009 the Commission established a task group to undertake this important work and Jim Hinds was appointed the chair. In order to allow sufficient time for the submission and adjudication of nominations for the 2010 awards, the task group needs to complete its work within the next month.
The Commission is looking for members of the community to serve on the task group. If you are interested in getting involved in this short-term project or to learn more about Heritage Commission task groups
email us.
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Press Release
February 24, 2009
On March 2nd, the Mission Community Heritage Commission will recommend to District Council that a Community Heritage Register be established for Mission. Members of the public are invited to attend the presentation at Council Chambers at 6:30 pm to show their support.
A Heritage Register is an official list of properties identified as having special heritage value or character. Recommended for the initial register will be Fraser River Heritage Park, the Mission Museum building, the Mission Memorial Centre (old hospital), Silverhill Hall, and the Powerhouse at Stave Falls.
A three month process of research, community consultation, and discussion forums organized by Sharon Syrette, the Project Manager, has resulted in a more comprehensive understanding of the history of these sites, and why they are important to our community. Each has contributed to our history in a unique way. Each is valued in different ways.
However, the overwhelming common feature is the pride that is felt toward these places. Each one was built, maintained, and managed through the dedication of local volunteers. At Silverhill Hall, for example, "the 3rd generation of descendants from the original builders is still involved," including the Lowe family who donated the land where the hall was constructed in 1919.
Money was raised locally to build these facilities, and to restore them so that they can continue to be used by citizens today. This is exemplified by the Mission Memorial Centre, the former Mission Memorial Hospital (1924-1965). It "opened in 1924 debt-free" due to the tremendous fundraising efforts of local citizens who "didn't look to government in the same way they do; they went ahead and raised the money, got the job done." In the 1970's the building was rehabilitated and managed by the Mission Memorial Centre Society (1973-1988) "to serve a variety of community purposes while maintaining the building's historic and cultural value."
The new Heritage Register will allow municipal planning staff to monitor any proposed changes to the properties, which can further benefit the local community. Research has proven that listed heritage properties can enhance property values and contribute to the creation of a unique neighbourhood ambience. The fastest growing sector of tourism is "cultural tourism" which includes a growing interest in historic buildings and the persons associated with them.
The Mission Community Heritage Commission also plans to provide information on each property for the District web-site, and in the near future to publish a printed guide to our new Heritage Register. For further information, contact the Mission Community Heritage Commission
by email.
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Media Release
January 26, 2009
The public has the opportunity over the next week to visit three of Mission's oldest historic sites open house events being organized by the Mission Community Heritage Commission. Each event will include an overview of the history of the site and a discussion of what makes the site important to our heritage and our community.
Mission Museum is having an open house on Thursday, January 29th from 4:00 to 6:30 pm; the building is a unique example of an early "prefab" brought to Mission by the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1907; it was later moved to the present location on 2nd Ave. and used as a library, then as the Mission Museum.
Xá:ytem Longhouse & Cultural Centre will hold their open house on Saturday, January 31 from 1:00 to 3:00. This ancient site has been used by aboriginal people for over 9,000 years; in the 1990's it was threatened by development, and through cooperation of the District of Mission, the province of British Columbia, and the Sto:lo Heritage Trust has been developed into an educational, spiritual and cultural site of international reputation.
Silverhill Hall will be hosting visitors on Wednesday, February 4th from 1:30 to 3:30. The hall was built by Swedish pioneers in 1919, has been the centre of social and family celebrations, the 4H Club activities, and an annual Mothers' Day tea.
The open houses are part of project currently underway by the Heritage Commission to initiate a Community Heritage Register. The register will be phased in over a number of years and create official recognition of local buildings and places with "heritage value" (i.e., "historical, cultural, aesthetic, scientific or educational worth or usefulness of property or an area") or "heritage character" (i.e., "the overall effect produced by traits or features which give property or an area a distinctive quality or appearance.").
Through funding support from the Heritage Places Branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the Mission Community Heritage Commission has hired a professional heritage consultant and a project manager for this first phase of the Community Heritage Register project. The process includes both research and local input into recognizing what we value about our past
Board members, volunteers, and citizens who have been part of preserving these sites, or who have attended events there are invited to join in the discussion of the heritage values embodied in each of these sites. For further information please contact Sharon Syrette, Project Manager at 604 832-4236 or
by email.
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Heritage Register for Mission
January 12, 2009
The District of Mission is initiating a Heritage Register, which will create official recognition of local buildings and heritage places. Heritage Places Branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, have provided a grant of $6,800 to match funds from the Mission Community Heritage Commission. The project is expected to document 6 sites for the BC Register of Historic Places.
Past Councils have recognized three Municipal Heritage Buildings: the Mission Memorial Hospital at 33070 Fifth Ave. designated on May 14, 1987, the Mission Museum building on 2nd Ave. designated on December 2, 1981, and Silverhill Community Hall on Silverdale Road designated in 2004. Fraser River Heritage Park has been nominated for recognition.
There are also two national historic sites in the District - the Powerhouse at Stave Falls, and Xa: ytem Longhouse and Cultural Centre; the local significance and values associated with these sites will need to be documented for the new District of Mission Heritage Register.
An Open House will be held at each of the historic sites to present information, archival photographs, and information about people who have been involved over the years. The public are invited to bring their pictures, stories and memories. Watch for the dates in local media within the next week.
The Mission Heritage Register is being phased in over a number of years, with new sites to be nominated, researched and documented each year. The Mission Heritage Register can improve conservation and stewardship of significant community heritage resources by providing the District Planning Department with information needed to assess land development and permit applications
A Heritage Register also provides benefits to local citizens, researchers, developers and heritage professionals as our 'sense of place' is enhanced and strengthened, and the unique qualities of our community are maintained and enhanced. The public information process enhances community knowledge, skills, and commitment to conserve heritage resources.
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Local Commission Organizes Conference
November 12, 2008
The Mission Community Heritage Commission is organizing a
Community Heritage Networking Conference on Saturday, November 29, 2008 from 9.a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Cafetorium, at the Heritage Park Centre in Mission, British Columbia.
This one day
mini conference will provide the opportunity for members of heritage commissions to meet with one another to share knowledge and to exchange information, as well as to get expert advice on heritage conservation management and issues.
According to Bob Parliament, Community Heritage Officer with the Heritage Branch, "The Mission Community Heritage Commission has taken a very innovative approach to information sharing and networking by hosting the [Community Heritage Commission] CHC Networking Conference. The Conference features presentations by some of most forward thinking and innovative people in heritage conservation in BC. This is a remarkable opportunity for commission members and heritage activists to advance their knowledge of heritage conservation and set the stage for innovation within their hometown heritage commissions."
Presenters include Lisa Codd, Curator of Burnaby Village Museum; Sue Morhun, Heritage Consultant; Stephen Mikicich, Senior Planner, District of West Vancouver; Denise Cook, Denise Cook Design, Landscape Architect; Don Luxton, Heritage Consultant, Don Luxton & Associates; and Bob Parliament.
Heritage BC has given its full support to the conference. "Community Heritage Commissions are the backbone of heritage conservation in B.C. "said it's Executive Director, Rick Goodacre. This conference will provide a critical opportunity for commissions to network and get in touch with the latest thinking on a number of topics. It's a great idea."
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Heritage Commission announces winners
February 14, 2008
As part of 2008 Heritage Week celebrations, the Mission Community Heritage Commission will award five recognition certificates at the District of Mission council meeting Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Council approved establishment of the commission in January 2007. The commission advises council on heritage conservation issues and provides leadership in the implementation of the district's Heritage Strategic Plan.
Creation of this recognition event is one of several objectives upon which commission members are now focusing, as well as developing public awareness and consultation, creating a heritage register, implementing a recognition and incentives program, and encouraging commission members' professional development.
Commission chairperson Val Billesberger comments, "The preservation of our community's heritage is everyone's business. Heritage conservation has both social and economic benefits to the community."
A heritage recognition program usually recognizes an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to the greater awareness or conservation of heritage in a community. In the commission's inaugural year, members have identified five recipients, which reflect a broad spectrum of what "heritage" includes.
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Managing Heritage Assets - Special Presentation
November 27, 2007
Efforts are underway by the recently formed Mission Community Heritage Commission to establish a Community Heritage Register - "an official list of historic places, specific to a community, which have been identified by a municipal government as having heritage "value" or "character".
Once established, the Community Heritage Register will enable the municipality to identify the significance of our community's historic places (i.e., a structure, building(s), street, neighborhood, landscape, archaeological site, view, roadway etc.). It will also serve as a management tool to monitor heritage properties for proposed changes or development, and to integrate heritage conservation activities into other local government land use planning processes.
On December 5th at 6:00PM in the District of Mission Municipal Hall, Bob Parliament, the Community Heritage Officer for the Lower Mainland Area of the Heritage Branch is giving an introductory presentation on Community Heritage Registers, including its legal basis and the process for establishing one.
Who should attend? Owners of historic homes and old buildings, architects, planners, developers, real estate professionals, community leaders and groups, historians, archaeologists, educators, students, business community, advocates of preserving our heritage and YOU!
The chairperson of the Mission Community Heritage Commission, Val Billesberger, said the presentation represents the first step in establishing the register. She emphasized that a key component of this process is the involvement of the community so the Heritage Register reflects local community values about our unique natural, built, and diverse cultural heritage.
The event is being hosted by the District of Mission Community Heritage Commission. Established by Council in January of 2007, the Commission held its inaugural meeting on April 25, 2007 with a mandate to advise Council on heritage conservation issues and undertake activities to cultivate partnerships that will support the preservation of the community's built, natural and cultural heritage assets.
For further information, please contact the Mission Community Heritage Commission
by email or telephone 604 820-2621.
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